Lightroom Says Metadata Has A Conflict. Now What?

[@harrykitch9239]

Thank Scott. Very timely for me. I just returned with 600+ photos from trip to Washington state where I used both my iPhone and Nikon. I imported into LR from my Nixon SD card(s) and transferred HEIC from my iPhone. I immediately got the metadata conflicts badge on all my iPhone photos. I hadn't done anything to them that should have altered the metadata ( as far as I know). I assumed there was a problem with LR reading the metadata from the iPhone HEIC format. Since the important info ( aperture, GPS, etc ) came over, I was happy and, like you and many others, decreed that the LR catalog was "the master", overwrote the data and was happy. Don't seem to have suffered any adverse effects, so that's in my workflow. Guess it is an Apple/ Adobe thing.

[@ScottDavenport]

Interesting. I wouldn't have expected a conflict on a fresh import. Maybe something with the HEIC format. I haven't used that format to date.

[@AR-vf7vg]

MISSING is the obvious ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM that seems to be never adressed -quite artfully so, in EVERY "tutorial" "adressing" this topic -it seems to me. However obvious, how come It is alvays avoided to be sayd if one can PREVIEW what happens with either choice on will make (overwrite vs import), and if not; if one can simply undoo the decision one has to taken - or not ! At the very least; Lightroom should list what/where the conflicts are and when they date back from. THESE questions remain and I cant understand why nobody first answer thes questions before even adressing the rest. Because "lets say" a folder of raw photofiles with xml sidecars has been used by more than one catalogue (for whatever reason ! Or from a previous catalogue version and had been lost, or forgotten that one had already done it - or a friend etc), or when You link à catalog back to a picture-folder You are unshure if that folder is one among different back-up folders you might have alternativally salvaged etc.(yes for instance back than when YOu still where innocently messy or uneducated) then the obvious question (no?) is; witch editing do I prefere ?! - The obvious questions that are always silenced are : Is there a way (an option, a plugin?) to compare witch editing You prefere ? Can You undo a choice so as to compare?) THAT ARE THE OBVIOUS BIG QUESTIONS: Can Lightoom Yes or No list or preview what these differences (conflicts) are?

[@ScottDavenport]

Short version - no, LR doesn't show the differences. This has been a gap (and still is) in LR for years. There used to be an independent plugin (ChangeManager) that would visualize deltas. AFAIK it's no longer around/maintained/available. The onus remains on the photographer to decide what is the source of truth.

[@AR-vf7vg]

@@ScottDavenport Thank You. "BTW" : I finaly tested out myself what I needed to find out. Therefore I created a folder called LR Test. I created there within a picture folder (called Photo Copies for LR test) with 3 raw files. I created a new LR catalog called Test1 that I saved created in that verry main folder and imported those 3 photos, made changes, also in keywording them. Saved all to xmp sidecar files (You have two ways...) and created second LR Test2 catalogue into same main testfolder and import the same 3 photos I just edited in LRTest1. I made several back and forth, always commenting in the keywords, and could analyse what is kept and what is not when You undo in the dev. history vs keywords etc. An very pleased I did all that within 20 minutes. I don't tell what allI learned (but I just told You how!) because best is you do it first hand

[@Stevelinification]

@@ScottDavenport Thanks for taking a crack at this issue and for making this video. Yes it is very sad that after all of these years that LightRoom doesn't allow one to compare the two versions to see what is different about the metadata before having to choose. It is a bit concerning for me when I am dealing with precious old family photos from 50-80 years ago that I might lose forever some precious info about them.

[@mphulett]

Good explanation about metadata conflicts. Sometimes (most of the time) I don't remember making a change and I wondered which one to choose (overwrite or import settings). I think I will choose overwrite since my LR catalog is my 'brain'. Also a great idea to make a smart collection for metadata conflicts. Always learning from you, Scott.

[@ScottDavenport]

Knowing which program is your “master” makes it very easy to know what option to select. :)

[@Chippeeful]

Hello.... my issue is when I move a folder within LR to another folder in LR I get the dreaded "badge". It doesn't happen all the time, however. It's very random. I just did the latest update so maybe that has something to do with it? I forgot to add that it's not on every photo, some photos will be fine and the one next to it will have the metadata change message.

[@b991228]

I have a PSD folder that is recorded in my Lightroom Classic catalog that contains images that have been prepared to be sent out to my printers for their processing. I will open the PSD file within the Photoshop application and making changes by adding layers with text, various layer styles, vender’s template, layouts, et cetera. I will export the final jpg file to the printers for processing and have Photoshop overwrite the changed PDF file and I will close the Photoshop application. Now when I enter Lightroom Classic I will have a conflict in this particular file. To eliminate the conflict I will request that Lightroom take the information from my disk and do an overwrite to the catalog. Is that the correct way to do this? Will the PDF in Lightroom be updated with the new changes?

[@socobenny]

Im trying to figure out what may have changed? Ive never had this pop up before nor have I changed any settings on my camera or LR.

[@ruskiycoder6424]

Same I'd really like to see what exactly is causing the conflict but don't see any options to do that.

[@chmeixner]

Thanks mate!

[@stockvideogamefootage1393]

Lightroom keeps saying this even after I save the metadata. It never goes away!

[@danielbarreto1183]

I have just had this issue appear for the first time in the photos I uploaded from a recent trip. What is frustrating is that warning alerts keep coming back again and again even when I click on overwrite settings. I go back to that series and I see it appear again and again. How do I get rid of it? And why is it even appearing? I am only using Lightroom to manage and process my photos. Nothing has changed with how I normally do things. The only change now is that I shot during this trip with two cameras, a Canon one (my ususal one) and a Panasonic Lumix. Since the time setting in both cameras was different, I changed the metadata in Lightroom for the Canon photos to push the time by +2 hours. Could this be the reason behind this metadata conflict? If so why is it also showing up on the Lumix photos for which I didn't change the capture time?

[@ScottDavenport]

Does the conflict icon have an upward arrow? Or an exclamation point? If the latter, that could indicate an inability to save metadata.

[@danielbarreto1183]

@@ScottDavenport Some have an upward arrow, some have an exclamation point. Why would there be an inability to save metadata on a file?

[@ScottDavenport]

Don't know. Could be a bug in LR, could be something LR doesn't like about the file. It's a question best addressed by Adobe. Maybe something in the LR/PS forums.

[@marclabro]

Waiting for this tuto for years :-) I thought my catalog was corrupted. So, now i know how to say LR catalog is the source of truth ! Since we can launch bridge+camera raw externally as well as ON1, luminar,... standalone, this has generated such problem. But, if i follow you, if we disable XMP in lightroom and camera raw, do you think we won't have any conflict anymore ? or if a xmp was generated by another soft, LR would considere it again ?

[@ScottDavenport]

Conflicts can occur irrespective of the XMP files. I leave mine turned on.

[@sunshineccc7713]

So if editing only in LR select overwrite, if going from lighreoom to ps back to Lr i use the other one?

[@ScottDavenport]

It all depends on what program you consider the "authority" for your metadata. In the LR only case, that's straightforward, it's LR. For PS, if you're doing just pixel editing, you may still want LR to overwrite. (The LR->PS plug-in workflow usually works just fine and doesn't confuse metadata.)

[@Noealz]

sometimes my metadata gets corrupted :/

[@ScottDavenport]

Oh jees.... I’ve been fortunate never to have that happen. And I make lots of backups :)